December 12, Wednesday: Republican Causes of the Depression

• Warren Harding- Corruption, died in office
• Calvin Coolidge- "Silent Cal": Hands-off Policies, presided over economic boom, bull market
• Herbert Hoover- President at Stock Market Crash, start of depression
• Goals and Achievements
  • Raised Tariffs (see A57 for chart of tariff rates) w/ Smoot-Hawley Tariff
  • WWI vets- lived in tents & camps during depression, marched on Washington
  • Foreign Policy- Isolation & Disarmament
  • Collect War debts from Europe
  • Reinstated Laissez-faire

• Overspeculation of stocks
• Overexpansion of credit
• British increased interest rates
• Panic
  • Worried Americans of investments
  • Huge amount of sold stocks, prices went down
  • Since prices went down, more people sold. A downward spiral.
• Overabundance of goods
  • Overproduction
  • Ability to make > Ability to sell
• All led to Stock Market Crash
• Money supply deflated, too much money in the hands of too few people
• Banks closed, money in stocks became worthless, overproduction caused loss of factory jobs
• "Black Tuesday"- October 29, 1929

• Projects (too small)
• Helped big business- Trickle Down- Reconstruction Finance Commission
• Party Divide- Business (Reps) v People (Dems)
• Tried to balance budget
• Rugged Individualism

December 11, Tuesday, Return to normalcy

1. nostrum and normalcy, quotation on first page of chapter 32
2. Trends in the 1920s as a rejection of pre-war tradition and belief
   • attack on religion-Darwinism
   • rise of materialistic, consumer culture
   • mobilization of society
   • youth culture challenges parents' beliefs
   • isolationism
   • government inaction-laissez faire

December 10, Monday

1. DBQ on Wilson's failure at the end of WWI
2. Questions to think about.

• Pages 706-707
  • What were Wilson's "glorified aims" in fighting WWI?
  • What were the main points of Wilson's 14 Point Plan?
  • Why did the Republicans refer to the 14 Points as the "14 Commandments of God Almighty Wilson?"
• Pages 718-725
  • How did Wilson's expectations concerning the 14 Points fit into the treaty negotiations at Versailles?
  • What error did Wilson make when he went to the treaty negotiations?
  • What obstacles did Wilson encounter at the Versailles meeting?
  • Why was Wilson "condemned by disillusioned liberals and frustrated imperialists?"
  • What was the Senate's major concern with the treaty?
  • Why did the US become so disillusioned after World War I?

December 7-US in WWI

1. How did the US move from neutrality to war-list

• Assassination of Franz Ferdinand in AH Empire
• European Powers group to Allies and Central Powers
• Neutral Trade (Lustiana sank)
• U-boats hostility
• Sussex ultimatum
• Unrestricted submarine warfare
• Zimmerman note
• Creel and his Committee of Public Information

2. How did the US prepare for war?

• Public Enthusiasm
  • 14 Points Address
  • Committee of Public Information
  • Espionage and Sedition Acts
• Industrialization for War
  • Counsel of National Defense
  • War Industries Board
  • National War Labor Board
  • Herbert Hoover - Food Commission
  • Fuel Administration
  • 18th Amendment
• Soldiers
  • Draft
  • No way out of Dradt
  • Women Workers

3. How and why did Wilson fail at the end of the war? List.

• “War to end all War”- WWII 20 years later
• 14 points- only one made it into Treaty
• Treaty of Versailles
• League of Nations and Article X
• Republicans won majority at midterm elections
• Treaty “Tour” of speeches
• Irreconcilables
• Solemn Referendum of 1920